The Broken Time Turner and the Mended Time Lord
by MayaH7
Summary: The Doctor and Rose find a broken Time Turner in Scotland. When they take it into the TARDIS, it takes them to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Some Doctor/Rose, Ron/Hermione, and other shipping may occur. WARNING: Sexual content in some chapters. Not graphically described.
1. Chapter 1

**_There are all sorts of methods of time travel._**

**_Some methods are fun and comfortable, like the TARDIS._**

**_Some are a bit more amateur._**

**_Usually, those will be in the form of bracelets or pendants._**

**_The Doctor, however, prefers his big, (sometimes) dependable ship._**

**_He'd rather not mess with other, less impressive forms of time travel._**

**_Some people, however, have got no other choice._**

**Chapter 1**

There are many 'lasts' in the world of time travel.

There is the Doctor, the last of the timelords. And his TARDIS. That's the last one, too.

But there are other lasts, as well. Like the last Time Turner.

* * *

Rose found it in Scotland.

It was a golden glimmer in the grass, on their way back from their encounter with Queen Victoria.

She stooped down to pick it up and showed it to the Doctor.

"Where'd you get that?" he asked, still in the Scottish accent he had acquired during the trip.

"Found it here…" she said, pointing at the spot on the grass where she'd seen it. "Maybe it's the Queen's."

"Let me have a look."

The pendant was made of two golden circles, and a small hourglass in the middle, held by a golden chain. There should have been two knobs on the outside of it, but one had been broken off, probably by accident.

"I don't think it's the Queen's…" he said finally, after a moment of silently examining the odd item.

"Who's do you reckon it is, then?"

"I don't know, but it feels… odd. Look at this."

He pointed at the golden circles, and Rose saw something she hadn't noticed before. They were decorated with small, beautifully written words, one sentence on each side of each circle. Rose read them in the wrong order at first, then turned them over in her head until she had the right order.

_I mark the hours every one_

_Nor have I yet outrun the sun_

_My use and value unto you_

_Are gauged by what you have to do_

She said it out loud, the Doctor joining her at the last sentence.

"What does it mean?" she asked.

The Doctor shook his head. He didn't know what it was. He had never seen anything like it. But he felt something coming from the pendant. Something about it just felt… magical. He couldn't quite find another word to explain it. And it felt familiar. It felt, strangely, like home…

Of course, it couldn't be from Gallifrey. No way. He'd have known if it was. But he felt like it was something that would have been welcome on Gallifrey. He couldn't quite put his finger on why. It just felt that way.

They took it back to the TARDIS, where they looked at it for a while, turning the one knob, trying to make it do something. Nothing worked.

"What're we gonna do with it?" Rose asked, holding the necklace carefully. It was beautiful. Not in a regular way. It felt, to her, like something that was part of the Doctor. That was what was beautiful about it. She couldn't explain it, but it was there… Some kind of power that it shared with him. Some kind of feeling, like a familiar smell, but better than that.

"I think it's safe to wear, if you want… You can wear it," he said. "Until we figure out what it is. And it'd look funny if I was the one who wore it… So you can wear it."

She let him fasten it for her. His fingers lingered a bit too long at her neck after he was done.

For a short moment neither of them said anything. Rose wasn't sure if she was thinking a lot or not thinking at all.

"So are you sure it's not dangerous?" she finally asked, just to break the strange momentary tension.

"What?"

She motioned to the necklace. He looked at it blankly, as if forgetting what they'd just talked about, and his eyes lingered on her chest for a moment too long.

"Ahh, right! The necklace! I lost my train of thought there for a second… I don't really know… Just keep it, for the moment, I guess. Just keep it and see what happens."

At that moment the TARDIS started shaking and rattling uncontrollably, sending both of them to the floor, Rose holding on to the Doctor's arm in a slightly awkward way, the Doctor holding on to the side of the TARDIS as it shook.

After what could have been a minute, but since they were in the TARDIS, it was really impossible to know, the shaking stopped. The Doctor helped Rose to her feet, panting.

"Where are we?" she asked.

The Doctor walked to the TARDIS control screen and looked at it for a long time, unmoving. Seeing that he wasn't about to answer her, she came to look too.

The screen read:

**HOGWARTS, 1993**


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: I _know_ the Doctor has read Harry Potter. I don't want to spoil this story for you, so I won't elaborate on this, but I've taken everything into account.**

"What Hogwarts? You mean… Hogwarts Hogwarts?!" Rose exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, during the famous years of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore himself! Yes, I mean Hogwarts Hogwarts!"

"Oh my god! No! are you serious? But I thought that was fictional?"

"Yet, look outside!"

Rose opened the TARDIS door and gasped. One dream she'd given up on was getting to see Hogwarts. And yet here it was, right in front of her. The real Hogwarts. The castle was more glamorous and magical in real life than she'd ever imagined. She looked back at the Doctor with the widest grin he'd ever seen on her face, and his face mirrored it. Just the fact that she was so happy made him so incredibly happy, himself.

"I read all the books! All of them! Up to the sixth! And I can't wait for the seventh! Can't believe I never thought to ask you about it! How is it? Is it good? Do they defeat Voldemort? Oh, goodness, I suppose since it's real I should be calling him You Know Who! Oh my god, I can't believe it was all real! I can't believe we're here!"

"Rose… I just think I ought to mention that I haven't really read the books yet…"

"But you've watched the movies?"

The Doctor shook his head.

"You've had _nine hundred years._"

"Haven't gotten to it. Lots to do. The whole universe to see!"

"And those books aren't worth your time?"

"I'm not saying that! Rose… Oh, don't get mad at me for that! I just haven't gotten to it yet!"

"Oh, never mind that, let's go, already! We're at Hogwarts!"

She pulled him out of the TARDIS, slamming the door behind them.

"Is this one of the years Harry Potter went to school?"

"You're the one who's read the books."

"You're the _Time Lord_."

"Good point. Well, let's see. We're a few years away from Dumbledore's death, so yes, this has got to be some point during their time… But why are we here?"

Rose shrugged.

"Guess we'll have to find out!" said the Doctor happily, starting to walk toward the castle. "Nothing like a good mystery!"


	3. Chapter 3

It was a normal day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Well, as normal as a day at Hogwarts could be. Students were hurrying from class to class, practicing spells in their common rooms, and taking walks on the grounds in their school robes.

One student who was having quite a busy day was a third year Gryffindor named Hermione Granger. Hermione had so many classes, she literally couldn't fit them all in her schedule. And today was the longest day of the week for her. She had 17 classes to attend, which means she had to keep record of where she was at all times, so as not to run into herself while heading to class.

Thanks to the time turner she wore around her neck, she could go a few hours back in time to attend all of her classes, even if they were happening at the same time.

Using the time turner had caused Hermione to learn a lot about the school: she now knew many new routes and shortcuts to different classes. She had to, because there were many things to avoid when there were two or three of you in one place at the same time.

Hermione allowed herself little time between classes, rushing away from Harry and Ron as soon as one class was over to hurry to her next (or previous) class.

At least the day was finally over, though. She didn't think she could manage sitting through one more Divination class, ever.

According to her watch, she'd been the only Hermione at Hogwarts for the last ten minutes, which meant she could now go anywhere on the grounds without having to worry about consequences. She decided to take a walk outside to relax before heading back to the common room.

It was finally dark outside, which was a relief. Fridays were always like this for her, too many daylight hours, a strange feeling forming in her stomach as the day pulled on. It felt unnatural to have such a long day. When the sun finally set, she always felt oddly relieved, as if it was reassurance that the earth had not, in fact, stopped spinning. This was a side effect of time travel, one of the many that Professor Mcgonagall had warned her about.

She wished she could share all this with Ron and Harry. As much as she loved school, she felt like one of these days, the long hours and crazy amount of schoolwork might just break her.

Hermione made her way to the lake and sat down against one of the larger trees. She closed her eyes and took deep, long breaths, trying to relax.

"I don't have much homework left," she said to herself. "I have two days to study and relax. I can read a book. I can sleep as long as I want."

She often had to remind herself out loud that everything was fine, because she tended to stress herself out if she didn't. Saying all the good things out loud was a good way for her to mentally relax after a long week.

She repeated different variations of those words until she felt calm. Well, at least as calm as Hermione can feel.

"It's nice and quiet, nobody's around. I can relax. See? I'm relaxing."

"Who're you talking to?"

Hermione looked up, startled. Two people were standing right in front of where she sat against the tree. The man who'd spoken to her had dark brown hair and sideburns, a goofy smile, and was wearing a long brown coat. Beside him stood a blond girl of about twenty, who smiled at the man so widely you would think he'd just made her childhood dream come true.

"Me? Er- I was just talking to myself," said Hermione.

"An excellent habit indeed," said the man. "What's your name?"

"H-Hermione Granger."

The blond girl's mouth fell open.

"But she looks _nothing _like Em-" the girl stopped in mid-sentence, noticing the look the man gave her.

"I'm sorry, but, who are you?" Hermione asked.

"I'm the Doctor," said the man brightly, "and this is Rose."

"The Doctor?" Hermione said. "What Doctor?"

"Just the Doctor."

"That's your name? The Doctor?"

"Isn't she supposed to be the bright one?" he said to Rose.

"Shut up," said Rose, then turned to Hermione. "That's his name, yes. Strange, I know," she fidgeted like there was something she really wanted to say but was trying hard not to. "Um… What year are you in? Uh, Miss Granger?" she said finally, giggling a bit, though Hermione couldn't quite understand what she was giggling at.

"Third year."

"Oh, so it's '_The Prisoner of'_- um, never mind," Rose blurted out. "Forget I just said that."

"Don't _tell_ her to forget it. Now there's no way she'll forget it," the Doctor whispered to Rose, though he was never that great at whispering, and Hermione heard anyway.

"Do you need anything?" Hermione asked sharply, starting to wish they'd just leave her alone. She'd have to be getting back to the common room soon.

"No, nothing, go on with your business," said the Doctor, starting to walk away, expecting Rose to follow.

"Wait, Doctor. I think she could help us."

"She's a third year student, Rose. We need to find some kind of authority."

"No, you don't understand," she came closer to his ear and whispered, "this is the year Hermione Granger's got a time turner. And I just realized… That pendant we found…" her voice trailed off, mid-sentence. She wasn't sure what she thought about that pendant.

"You think it's a time turner?"

"I don't know. Could be. It looked familiar. But even if that isn't the case, she's the brightest witch of her age! She could help us!"

"You sure you wanna tell her?"

Rose nodded.

"Alright."

They turned back to Hermione, who had been having thoughts of her own while they'd been talking.

"How do you know what a doctor even is?" she blurted out quickly, curious as ever.

"What do you mean?" he said.

"Being a doctor is a Muggle profession. The wizarding world doesn't even have doctors."

"Who said I'm a wizard?"

"You can't be a Muggle, you saw the castle. If you hadn't had magic in you, you'd have just seen an old ruined building with a 'Keep Out' sign. I read all about it in _Hogwarts, a History_."

The Doctor paused to think for a moment, an unusual thing for the Doctor to do in most circumstances.

"Well, as a matter of fact," he said. "I'm a Time Lord from the planet of Gallifrey, so no, I'm not a wizard. But my time traveling spaceship which is called a TARDIS can translate all kinds of things, so I suppose it translated the castle for us, which is how we saw what it actually is."


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione stared at the Doctor for a moment, unable to comprehend what he'd just said. Magic, sure. But aliens? It was like she was eleven all over again, finding out about witches and wizards.

Finally, Rose spoke. "I think we should go to Dumbledore- he'd know what to do."

Hermione agreed, but she wasn't going to let them go so fast.

"You look human, though," she said to the Doctor.

"No, you look Time Lord," he replied sharply.

"Can I see your time traveling spaceship?" she asked.

"Only if you take us to Albus Dumbledore."

"Fine," she muttered, raising herself from the ground and picking up her things. She began walking toward the castle, the Doctor and Rose following her closely.

They'd made it into the castle when Hermione heard a familiar voice behind them.

"Miss Granger."

They turned around. Professor Snape stood behind them, tapping his foot, hoping he'd finally caught Hermione doing something wrong.

"Have Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley taken polyjuice potion, or have you simply found a pair of new friends?" he asked suspiciously.

"They're visitors for Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione. "I'm showing them the way."

He walked over, examining the odd pair. They stood awkwardly, both trying to look as casual as they could, Rose failing miserably.

"You're wearing Muggle clothes," he observed.

The Doctor pulled out a piece of paper and waved it in Snape's face, smiling confidently. "I'm sure you'll find that this explains everything."

Snape studied the paper carefully. "Why didn't say so?" As he spoke, Rose grabbed the psychic paper from the Doctor and took a quick look. "Granger, leave now, I will escort them to Professor Dumbledore."

"We asked for her specifically, as she is first in her class in Muggle Studies," Rose said cleverly.

"She isn't such a brilliant student as you think," said Snape bitterly. Then, reluctantly, "Go on, then."

They sighed with relief when he left, and Hermione led them the rest of the way to the gargoyle outside of Dumbledore's office. Just as she realized that she didn't know the password, they spotted Minerva Mcgonagall walking towards them.

"Professor Mcgonagall-"

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"These two people, they've come to see Professor Dumbledore."

"You need me to open the staircase?"

Hermione nodded.

"I'll be taking you up, then," she said. Unlike with Snape, none of them tried to argue.

Professor Mcgonagall turned to the gargoyle and said, "Sugar Quills." The gargoyle allowed them to enter.

When he opened the door, Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Visitors!" he exclaimed. "I seem to be a popular man today." he ushered them in. By this time Rose looked like all her dreams had come true on the same day (they might as well have).

"Now, what brings you here today?" he asked, smiling at the Doctor and Rose.

"We're not quite sure!" said the Doctor honestly and quite enthusiastically, as if not being sure about why he was there was the best thing that could ever happen to him.

Rose pulled out the pendant. "There's this," she said.

"A broken time turner," said Dumbledore immediately upon seeing the item. "Where did you find that?"

"Scotland, a long time ago," said the Doctor.

"How long?"

"About a century."

"Let me see that," said Mcgonagall, taking the pendant from Rose's hand.

"Miss Granger, can I see your time turner for a second?"

Hermione took the necklace off and handed it to Mcgonagall, who carefully held each of the pendants in a different hand and examined them.

"Where in Scotland exactly did you find it?" asked Dumbledore.

"In a field, on the ground," said the Doctor.

"It just lay there?"

"Yes, just lay there. What an unreliable form of time travel."

"Look who's talking," Rose laughed. The Doctor was, in fact, the most unreliable form time travel. Rose should know.

"Albus?" said Mcgonagall, looking at Dumbledore worriedly. She motioned at the two time turners in her hand- the good one and the broken one. "It's the same one. Both of them are the same one.


	5. Chapter 5

The Doctor and Rose were asked to remain at Hogwarts while Dumbledore studied the time turners. They were given a room in the guest's quarters. Apparently Dumbledore did not think they needed separate rooms, and neither Rose nor the Doctor tried to correct him, partly out of shyness.

At dinner they sat up front with the teachers, and were introduced by Dumbledore to everyone simply as "our visitors, Mister Smith and Miss Tyler," followed by "and as you know, visitors at Hogwarts are treated with respect. You will welcome them to Hogwarts as if it is their home, and assist them if ever they request assistance."

This little speech was accompanied by much whispering; Hogwarts hardly ever had any visitors, and when it did, Dumbledore usually explained why they were there.

As Dumbledore sat down, Hermione caught the Doctor's eye, a questioning look on her face. She'd been asked to leave without her time turner, and had been very upset, complaining that she'll be forced to miss important classes. The Doctor smiled at her and Hermione scowled, then whispered something to the messy haired boy on her right. When the boy looked up, they caught a glimpse of the lightning shaped scar on his forehead.

"_That's Harry Potter,_" Rose whispered excitedly. The Doctor knew bits and pieces about this time, and he definitely knew who Harry Potter was.

"_I know,_" he whispered back, almost as excited as Rose.

They looked down at their empty plates, their cheeks growing warm as Harry Potter studied their faces.

_"She's not supposed to tell them about the time turner till the end of the book," _Rose whispered.

_"Time can be rewritten."_

Dinner appeared on the tables, filling the Great Hall with a wonderful smell. "Marvelous!" the Doctor exclaimed, and they both piled their plates with a bit of anything they could reach.

"Pass the shepherd's pie, will you?" said the woman on Rose's left. Rose handed her the dish and the woman smiled at her. "Welcome to Hogwarts, by the way. I'm Pomona. Teach Herbology down at the greenhouses."

"Nice to meet you, Professor," Rose said.

"Oh, no need to be formal, dear," said the professor, cutting a big slice of shepherd's pie onto her plate. "Just call me Pomona." She nudged Rose softly and lifted her eyebrows toward the Doctor, who was pointing his sonic screwdriver at his goblet of pumpkin juice, his tongue protruding slightly through his lips in concentration. "The two of you come here together, eh?" she asked, lowering her voice.

Rose nodded.

"He looks good," said Pomona.

The Doctor looked rather ridiculous with his tongue out and his head cocked to one side, focusing on his goblet of juice. But she didn't disagree with Pomona. Not at all. So she nodded again.

"You're together, you two?"

"No, of course not," said Rose dismissively. "We're just friends."

"So he's taken?"

"Not really, no."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Snatch him up as long as you've got the chance! I'd do it if I were his age!"

"You'd have to be a bit older," Rose muttered under her breath.

"What did you say, dear?"

"Nothing."

* * *

They returned to their room, both collapsing on the double bed, feeling like they could never eat again.

"Is it like this every day here?" the Doctor asked.

"Maybe we should've eaten a bit less," said Rose.

"We can try doing that tomorrow."

"I agree."

They lay there, fully dressed, both thinking of getting up to change and both too exhausted to pull themselves up.

"I keep thinking about those time turners..." the Doctor began.

"How they're both the same? Yeah, it's confusing."

"No, not that. It's a mystery that makes sense, you know. It's all wibbly wobbly timey wimey... But I'm sure we can figure it out."

Then what is it?"

"The time turner is the mystery to me."

"How come?"

"It feels too much like home. It scares me."

Rose moved closer to the Doctor and let him take her hand in his.

"You shouldn't be afraid of home," she said.

"I'm not afraid for myself..." he paused, trying to put his fear into words. "My home was destroyed. I destroyed it. That time turner does not deserve to be my home. Nothing does. Everything I love, everything I'm attached to... It's always destroyed, somehow."

"_I'm_ fine," Rose said.

The Doctor moved his hand to stroke her cheek, and she rested her head on his chest. She felt it move as he breathed, slowly and evenly. She wanted to assure him that she was his home, that she would never leave him.

"Let's keep you that way," he said.


	6. Chapter 6

The Doctor woke up with Rose still in his arms, feeling slightly heavy from eating too much the previous evening. He got up cautiously, setting her head down on the pillow while trying not to wake her, and went to brush his teeth and take a shower. When he returned, she was already awake, stretching her arms and yawning loudly.

"So, what are we doing today, Doctor?" she asked, mid-yawn.

"Dunno," he said. "We can explore a bit, I guess."

"Exploring is nice," Rose agreed. There was a lot she wanted to explore. She could still hardly believe she was here.

"But first... breakfast!" the Doctor said.

"Let's eat a bit less this time. Or at least, a bit healthier," suggested Rose. "I'm still slow from yesterday's dinner."

* * *

An hour and a half later, they found themselves in Honeydukes.

"It's like you're meant to buy one thing and leave," said the Doctor in a slightly irritated tone. "It would be so much more convenient for them to have shopping carts!"

"Everyone else can just enchant their candy to float around after them," Rose pointed out. She picked up a wrapped lollipop from a box labeled **BLOOD FLAVORED LOLLIPOPS**. "_Wingardium Leviosa!_" she said with a laugh, imitating the wand movement, _swish and flick_.

"So not only are they buying heaps of candy, but they don't even have to carry it around... And the only sport they have is played _sitting_."

Rose gestured toward the pile of sweets in the Doctor's arms. "And you say this because you're so much healthier than them, right?"

"That- that's not the point!" he argued. "I'm a Time Lord! And we'll run it off, eventually."

"_We'll_ run it off? What makes you think I'm helping you eat all that?"

"Let's see you resist this delicious chocolate wand," he said quite seriously.

Rose went into a fit of immature giggling as the Doctor realized what he had just said. He then joined in the giggling as well.

"You know what?" said Rose.

"What?"

"I'm thinking we should visit The Three Broomsticks."

* * *

Two Butterbeers and a firewhiskey later, they returned to the castle, their stomachs warm and their minds a bit fuzzy, arms full of Honeyduke's magical sweets to stock the TARDIS with.

As they approached the blue box, which they had left on the outskirts of the school grounds, they noticed a tall figure leaning against the door. Albus Dumbledore smiled as they neared him, his eyes twinkling with the curiosity of a young boy, and, at the same time, with the wisdom of an old man. His eyes reminded Rose of the Doctor's in that sense.

"An old Muggle police box?" he asked with an air of genuine interest.

"Isn't it wonderful?" the Doctor beamed.

"It is definitely, a very... _original_ form of transport" remarked Dumbledore. "And it travels in time, as well. Very convenient."

"You want us to do something for you," the Doctor said matter-of-factly.

"I do, but I mean to get to that later. First," he held up the two time turners in his palm. "These."

"You found something?" asked Rose.

"Nothing. I've absolutely no clue." He began to pace from one side of the TARDIS to the other, tapping his fingers in a way that was slightly distracting.

"What is this box of yours?" he asked, stopping his pacing to run a hand over the beautiful, slightly chipped wood of the TARDIS. "How do you fit in it comfortably? I would have guessed that it is enchanted it some way, to be larger on the inside. But neither of you is a witch or a wizard, as far as I can tell. How does it work? Muggle technology?"

"Alien Muggle technology," the Doctor said. "Specifically, Time Lord. We're like wizards, but better."

"Better, you say? Might I have a look at this Time Lord magic of yours?" Dumbledore replied without a hint of sarcasm.

The Doctor pushed open the TARDIS door, allowing Dumbledore to step inside. He stood in the entrance to the enormous control room, a complete contrast to the inside of the TARDIS in his purple cloak and long white beard. And yet, it was obvious that he found this Muggle time machine more than just fascinating and intriguing. The strangeness of Albus Dumbledore fit with the even stranger air of the TARDIS.

"I must agree with you. This magic is a kind that I have not yet come across. Well, if you could call it magic. It is less and more mysterious than that."

"Welcome to science," said Rose.

They allowed Dumbledore to satisfy his curiosity, waiting patiently as he explored in silence. After a long time, he turned back to them. "This is an amazing machine," he concluded. "And it can definitely help us solve the mystery."

"You need us to take you somewhere?" the Doctor asked.

"No, no," said Dumbledore. "It would be better if I did not meddle with time, myself. But I must ask you to do some time traveling for me. You must follow the path of this time turner and see what became of it."

"So we travel forward? To when, exactly?" asked Rose.

"I do not know when or where. I realize that's not much to go on."

"That's nothing to go on!" said Rose.

"One second," the Doctor said, pulling Rose aside. He lowered his voice. "Do you think there's anything in the books that might help us?"

"I... I don't know. Maybe. They might've said something about it in one of the books. I don't know."

"Try to remember!"

"Maybe we should read the books?" Rose suggested.

"We have a plan!" the Doctor exclaimed loudly and suddenly, turning back to Dumbledore.

"Well?"

"The plan is that Rose and I go do a bit of research."

"Where will you go?"

"Where _will_ we go, Doctor?" said Rose.

"WH Smith, maybe?"

"How about Waterstones?"

"There'll be such a _queue_ everywhere... We'd be better off someplace exotic."

"Hmm, exotic... I like that. What did you have in mind?"

"Professor Dumbledore, we're leaving," the Doctor said excitedly. "Rose, did you know the TARDIS has a _Shuffle_ setting?" he went around to the control panel. "Hmm, let's see..." he pressed a few buttons. "Earth. July 21st, 2007. Midnight. A book store."


	7. Chapter 7

"Well, this is interesting," the Doctor said.

"Where are we?" asked Rose.

"We're in a crazy little city in a crazier little country." He smiled suddenly, that wide grin that only comes with adventure. Rose couldn't help immediately grinning in response.

"Rose, have you ever heard of Tel Aviv, Israel?"

"We're in the Middle East?" she gasped. "Isn't it dangerous?"

"Nothing's dangerous when you're in Tel Aviv! Well, at least, nothing seems dangerous. You'll see. It's five to midnight, we'd better go."

He opened the TARDIS door and they stepped outside. It was a warm night, and they had landed on an empty side street. They could hear people in the distance, a lot of them. Someone was playing jazz music from afar, the sound of a saxophone mixing with the noises of the crowds.

They exited the side street and found themselves on another street, this one enormous and noisy. In the yellowish light cast by the street lamps, dozens of people stood in various states of excitement. Some of them wore robes. A group of teenagers was yelling spells at each other, fake wands pointed.

Everyone seemed to be crowded around a well lit book store, which was slowly filling up with people. A green sign above the door read '**Steimatzky**', and a piece of paper taped to the door said, '_Steimatzky at midnight: come purchase the last book in J.K. Rowling's magical Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.'_

Well dressed and oddly dressed people sat at the cafés and the restaurants, most of them completely oblivious to the growing crowd at the book store. Bikers swerved skillfully through the people, one almost running over a small white poodle being walked by a woman with too much make up. (_Why would you walk your poodle at midnight?_ was a thought that crossed their mind).

Rose wasn't sure if the liveliness of the place was directly related to the new Harry Potter book. She hoped not, because she liked this place a lot. Something about the crowds and the cafés and the bikes and the cars driving on the wrong side of the street made her feel wide awake and extremely alive.

The Doctor turned to her, still grinning widely, eyes sparkling. His warm hand slipped into hers.

"Rose Tyler," he said, "Welcome to the city that never stops."

* * *

An exciting countdown and a long wait later (it took double the time, as everyone seemed to feel the need to push to the front), they finally left the store, each holding a pile of books. It took all of Rose's self restraint to not peek into the orange one on top. As she struggled to follow the Doctor while balancing three heavy books in her arms, she heard a voice behind her.

"Look at those two." It was a woman's voice, but Rose couldn't look around in fear of collapsing from the weight of the books. "Why're they cosplaying as BBC characters?"

"Check out his hair." A different voice, also female. "I'd have believed he was real."

She thought she may have heard the phrase _Doctor Who_, but she wasn't sure. _They're probably talking about someone else_, she thought as they made for the TARDIS. And yet, she couldn't help feeling like she was being stared at until they stepped onto the side street and climbed into the blue box.


	8. Chapter 8

_How_ did he convince her to do it? How did he manage to convince Rose to leave a brand new Harry Potter book unopened in the TARDIS in favor of a night in Tel Aviv? Maybe it was the way the city woke her senses, that she wanted just a bit more of the warm air and the colorful people.

In the early hours of the morning, they found themselves at a falafel stall, all manners forgotten in the rich taste of so many flavors merged together. Rose thought people should mix things in bread more often, because it was almost always wonderful. Then she thought how amazing it was that every place had bread, how it was a universal thing, how everyone did something else with it. And then she realized her hands were full of tomato juice mixed with hummus, and the Doctor took a bite of her pita bread exactly where it leaked, which somehow stopped the leaking, and Rose giggled because she hadn't eaten something this messy since she was a toddler, and the Doctor smiled his wide smile again, because she was being so free, so _Rose_, and that freedom was the only thing that made him forget everything that bound him. He wasn't sure if he believed in luck, but what else could have brought her here? What else could have brought her to him?

Later, they spent a very short amount of time at a crowded club that smelled of sweat before realizing neither of them really enjoyed it. A short walk through the streets of Tel Aviv brought them to a fancy looking pub, with air conditioning too strong and drinks too pricy, but at least their bodies were a bit warmer once they had some.

A tan guy with spiky hair walked up to them, smiling confidently at Rose.

"Hey, doll," he said. He smelled like he'd just bathed in hair spray. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"Actually..." Rose strained to come up with a quick excuse.

"She's with me," the Doctor interrupted quickly. "We're... Dating. We're a couple."

"Engaged, actually."

"She's pregnant," he added, joining in the game like she'd hoped. They did this sometimes, making up stories on the spot, first to get themselves out of trouble, then just for the fun. It was a kind of game they played often but never talked about.

"We're hoping for a girl."

"_You're_ hoping for a girl. I'm hoping for twins."

"Twins? Do you know how heavy-"

"Right, I'm leaving," the spiky haired guy interrupted, turning his back to them. As soon as he left, they both burst into laughter.

"Twins? Really?"

"Think about it. A boy and a girl. We can dress them in matching clothes."

"We're not having twins, Doctor."

* * *

It was nearly dawn by the time they returned to the TARDIS, both tired and a bit tipsy, in no state to read and definitely not to fly a spaceship. Somehow they made it past the control room and into a bedroom, Rose's bedroom, which luckily the TARDIS had moved for them.

"Smells nice in here," the Doctor remarked as he collapsed onto the bed beside Rose.

"Why are you in my bed?"

"Not sure. You want me to leave?"

"No."

"Okay." He paused, reaching for her hand. "Did you like Tel Aviv?"

"Loved it. Feels like just a little taste, though." Every other street here was completely different. Rose felt like she needed to see all of it.

"We can come back here, you know."

"That'd be nice."

"So many planets..." He sighed, absently moving his fingers through her soft hair. "So many planets and it's not enough just to catch a glimpse of each. Take Earth, for example. There's so much to see, so much history to live through. Nine hundred years aren't enough to figure this place out. So many new things to taste but we'd rather come back for more."

"How do you ever get to know something if you keep running away from it?"

"How do you ever get to know _anything_ if you never try? That's why I run, Rose. I don't want to miss anything."

Her head was nestled in the crook of his neck, and he was warm, his chest rising up and down in a way that relaxed her. She could hear the beating of his hearts in unison, and she wasn't sure if it was the touch of alcohol or the closeness, or a mixture of both, but they were beating faster than usual.

"But if you try something and you love it," she said, lifting her head to look into his eyes, yellow hair falling over her face. The Doctor noticed how yellow and pink she was, his Rose, when her cheeks were flushed, and her hair... What was different about it? Had she changed anything? Or was it just him, a sudden craving for simplicity, for yellow and pink and nothing more? "Wouldn't you-"

He moved swiftly, his warm lips meeting hers with a bit too much initial strength. Quickly overcoming her surprise, she returned the kiss. He brought his hand to the back of her neck, pressing her to him. He had noticed the pink of her lips at that moment. Such an odd thing to finally bring them together, these two colors. Two colors which he suddenly needed desperately. A chain of metaphors came to his mind: he needed her like food, perhaps. Like air. Right now he didn't have much of that, but that was okay. It wasn't really lust, this moment of embrace, their bodies intertwined with no intention of letting go. It was a need more ancient, and more powerful. It was a silent agreement, with clumsy hands and warm bodies, lingering kisses that resulted in blushes and smiles. It was a messy act of _together_, just like everything they'd ever had.


	9. Chapter 9

Rose slept for twelve hours and woke to a sniffling sound beside her. Instinctively, she reached for the Doctor's hand, but couldn't find it. Rose opened her eyes and looked up. The Doctor was sitting beside her, completely oblivious to the fact that she had woken up, and clutching a large blue book. _The Order of the Phoenix_, she realized. She observed that he was crying.

"Doctor?"

"You didn't tell me it was so... _tragic_." He hadn't looked away from the book.

"Sirius?" she asked.

The Doctor let out a sob. This was not the right time to ask him if he'd found anything regarding the time turner.

"Oh, how am I going to get you through the next one?"

The Doctor snuffled again in reply.

* * *

A quick shower later, Rose joined the Doctor in bed with a cup of tea and the _Deathly Hallows_ in her arms. He was halfway through the _Half-blood Prince_ when she started to read, and by the time George lost his ear, he was already sobbing loudly beside her. Undoubtedly, Dumbledore had died.

Apparently Time Lords are very, very fast readers. While she read, the Doctor set down his book and left the TARDIS in silence, returning twenty minutes later with another copy of _Deathly Hallows_ ("I couldn't _wait_ for you finish, Rose.") and lots and lots of takeaway sushi.

Last night was present in both their minds as they ate, weighing awkwardly and pleasantly on every word and gesture. They talked about the books for a while, the Doctor mentioning the explosion in the Ministry of Magic. The rest of the time turners were gone, he reminded Rose. If _Deathly Hallows _mentions nothing, they'd have to figure out what had happened in another way.

By the end of the meal, Rose knew the Doctor's favorite character (Dumbledore), his Hogwarts house (Ravenclaw), and his Patronus. Sort of. ("Is an Oncoming Storm an animal? Are you sure it's not?")

They were both itching to mention it, and both trying not to. As they cleaned up the leftovers of their meal, Rose looked up suddenly. "Doctor," she said.

"Hmm?"

"We had sex."

The Doctor looked up in surprise. He paused for a moment. "Yes, we did."

"It was nice."

"Yes, it was."

Both blushing, they finished clearing their plastic plates.


	10. Chapter 10

_Deathly Hallows_ proved to be completely irrelevant to their research on the subject of the broken time turner. It was a strange picture: the two of them cuddled up in Rose's bed all afternoon, each holding a copy of the same book; both completely absorbed in the stories. For one day, they escaped into someone else's tale, into a magical world that was not actually fictional, but felt like it, at the moment. The Doctor and Rose, on an adventure like every other.

Night had fallen on the city of Tel Aviv outside by the time Rose finished the book (quite a while after the Doctor). For a while, they were in no state for anything other than cuddling and tears. Soon, however, this turned into quite a bit of snogging, and later, sleep. They dreamed of Hogwarts: a comforting reality awaiting them the next day. The Doctor's dreams were full of events from the story: sortings and snakes, potions and spells, girls' toilets, wizard weddings, battles and magical creatures. In every place he saw in his dreams, there was a time turner: whole or broken, old or new. Someone was wearing it, or it was on the floor, or maybe it was just floating about. But it was always there, reminding him of the mystery they had yet to solve.

The most interesting thing about this mystery was that it was not important- at least, not in the way importance is usually perceived. Why the same time turner used by Hermione Granger was lying broken on the floor in Scotland of 1879, was a question of mere curiosity. Even in his dreams, the Doctor was drawn to this odd little pendant, as if it was from home. In the absence of a true home, he found his place in all of time, and everything extraordinary.

His dream brought him back to the console room, where he had fastened the time turner around Rose's neck. Now _that_ was extraordinary- that piece of timey wimey magic hanging around Rose's neck. A broken carrier of time, just like the Doctor, had been given to her in that moment, if only for a brief time.

She was not up yet when he woke. He lay there, thinking of the broken time turner. It resembled him. They were both broken, both old and weary and tired. Both alone.

Alone and broken, but no longer lonely in his wooden box. The Doctor pictured the golden pendant, laying in a drawer somewhere in Dumbledore's office. The Doctor was not lonely. He had Rose.

He was broken, indeed. But broken things can be mended. Doctors need to be fixed sometimes, too.

The terrible thought of '_How long will this last?'_ crossed his mind for a moment just before she woke up, and he pushed it away to greet the sleepy smile of the Rose who had mended him.


	11. Chapter 11

A week had passed since the strange visit of Mister Smith and Miss Tyler at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Over the span of that week and in the hands of the students' imagination, the mysterious visitors managed to be Ministry inspectors, crazy runaways from St. Mungo's, Death Eaters in disguise, and a pair of very confused Muggles.

None of the rumours involved a traveling alien and his companion.

Draco Malfoy was the first to glimpse the arrival of the blue box on the school grounds. The third years were making their way back from a rather nasty Care of Magical Creatures class, involving Fire Crabs.

"Look there! It's the visitors!" he called out. "Bet they're friends of Hagrid's, and he gave them that failure of a spell! What were you trying to hide that box for? What were you doing in there together, anyway?" A few of the nastier looking Slytherins sniggered.

"Oops," Rose whispered, noticing the small crowd. They were supposed to have landed somewhere empty. "Was that intentional?"

The Doctor shook his head. "What a fun trick!" he said loudly to the scattered students, smiling with confidence.

"Zonko's. Cheap spell," Rose added with a grin. "You'll want to ask 'em for the Extremely Loud Invisibility Spell. Only two galleons a kit!"

They began to make their way through the students and towards the castle, trying to ignore Malfoy's shouts regarding what they may or may not have been doing in the supposedly crowded box at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"Did you find anything?" Hermione Granger had come up next to them, leaving her friends behind.

The Doctor shook his head. "Can't tell you your future. You'll have to live it yourself."

She gave them a perplexed look, quickening her pace to keep up with them.

"I asked what _happened_ to the time turner. In the past. I didn't say anything about the future."

"Well," the Doctor replied, "that's in the future."

"You have no idea what happened to it, do you?"

"Not really," Rose admitted.

"And to figure it out, you travelled to the future."

"Time machines tend to do that," the Doctor said.

"What are you going to do now?" Hermione asked.

"No idea."

"Well, I'm assuming you didn't try to follow the time turner into the future, did you?" she said. "You should have. There must be something that connects it with your time machine. I could feel a sort of connection from my pendant when I wore it next to that... box. If you just-"

"Took both time turners-" the Doctor interrupted, "That is, both versions of the time turner, into the TARDIS and got them to let it absorb their time stream-"

"It'll result in the ability to travel anywhere the time turner has been or will be until the point in which you found it!" Hermione concluded.

"Brilliant!" He smiled, turning to Rose. "She's smarter than I thought."

You would think the Doctor had learned by now not to underestimate humanity.

Rose's hand in his and Hermione close behind them, they set off toward Dumbledore's office once more.


	12. Chapter 12

"It's bigger on the inside."

This was the Doctor's favorite part. The realisation. The surprise. It was beautiful.

"I'd assumed there's some sort of magic to it, but I just... I've never seen anything like this before... Can I- can I touch it?"

"Treat yourself."

Hermione nodded, almost floating towards the control panel of the TARDIS.

"Be careful. And if you leave the control room, don't get lost."

Hermione nodded again.

"Doctor." It was Rose. She held out the time turners in each of her palms, two identical pendants- old and new. "Where do we put them?"

This was something their clever plan had not included. They'd rushed to Dumbledore and asked him for the pendants, a plan only half-formed in their minds. Getting the time turners into the TARDIS was one thing. Making it do what they wanted, however, was another business.

"Whatever you do, don't let them touch, will you? Time turners have got all sorts of mechanisms-"

"Generally spells," Hermione added, still absorbed in the delicate mechanics of the control panel, hands floating carefully above the buttons and knobs, too afraid to touch anything.

"Yes. So I wasn't too worried before. But two of the same time turner, inside the TARDIS..."

"I won't let them touch," Rose reassured him. "Now, how do we make this work?"

"No clue," he admitted.

"Ever entered something's time stream before?"

"_Someone's_, yes. Never an object. There's a- a room, for my own time stream. We can't go there, though- too dangerous. You'd die trying to enter the stream. _But_ we could try to recreate the same thing with these- since it's a rather small time object, we could leave out the scattering system and it might not even be deadly!"

"How?"

The Doctor frowned. "Ask her?"

"The TARDIS?"

He looked at Rose with a slight smile, as if to say 'who else?'.

"How do you ask a spaceship to create a time stream portal for you?" Hermione wondered aloud, running a finger over one of the larger knobs.

"Nicely."

The TARDIS, apparently, did not need much persuasion, for at that moment she began to hum.

"Ow!" The pendants nearly dropped from Rose's hands. "They're hot!"

"Don't let go, Rose Tyler! She's using you as a sort of link- it won't take long, just don't let go!"

The room shook, and they fell to the ground, Hermione holding on to the side of the control panel, the Doctor to a crooked bit of the floor and to Rose, who could not hold onto anything other than two- that is, one, but two- scorchingly hot time turners.

"What's going on?" Hermione shouted.

"We're moving!"

"How long am I supposed to hold on to these? It's like putting your hand in a fire!" Rose said.

"Just a bit more- she likes your Bad Wolf!"

"What?"

"Bad Wolf!"

"What's Bad Wolf?" Hermione asked.

"A sign! The TARDIS is spreading it to get easier access to the time line!" The Doctor was grinning, and Rose couldn't help but smile as well.

"She's using Bad Wolf on the time turners?"

"That's what I just said!"

The shaking stopped, and they were left panting, the time turners cooling in Rose's hands, leaving no sign of moments ago; not even a hint of redness on her skin.

Slowly, they got up, and headed to the TARDIS door.

"Where are we?" Hermione asked. The TARDIS was still humming softly.

"Nowhere specific," the Doctor said, eyes widening with the excitement of the unknown. "We're inside the time line. Rose-" He took her hand in his. "Let go of them."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Watch." Carefully, he parted her fingers, and she dropped the pendant- the unbroken one. Instead of falling, it simply floated in midair.

"It's suspended in time. And space," the Doctor explained.

"How?"

"The TARDIS prefers to keep it under control while in its own time line. And she seems to enjoy being in charge of other little time gadgets."

"What, she likes being its mum?"

"Something like that."

They stood there for a moment, the Doctor holding on to Rose's outstretched hand, both of them smiling.

"Are we going?" Hermione asked, startling them slightly.

Rose let go of the other pendant, and it joined its younger version, suspended in the air without touching.

The Doctor opened the TARDIS door.

"Ready to see the life of this little time turner?"


End file.
